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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Rawang has always been perceived as an industrial area, a small town with dirt, dust, and debris (hey, 3D's!) and with a KTM station. Oh, and the last town before reaching KL, as when we were kids, we used to anticipate with glee and much anxiety before the sight of skyscrapers greeted us in their shiny armour .... aka Welcome to the (Concrete) Jungle !!!

And Rawang town was somewhat of a Happy Ending ... or something.

With 8TV's Ho Chak's logo sticker emblazed on the walls, and patrons from all over, the rather secluded restaurant holds its ground amidst the rapid development of Rawang

Locating this restaurant was not too hard, with directions from the rather reliable Food Guide. Instead, I was surprised we managed to reach this place without much hassle or jam.

In the middle of a residential area in Kampong Dato Lee Kim Sai, the restaurant has ONLY Chinese characters, which I'm of course, much-illiterate to. Named Restoran Tang Wan Cheng, the seating area may not be sufficient for a large crowd, with roughly 10 tables placed within the compartment of the house.

Fried Stuffed Mantou with Meat Paste (RM1 each)

To start off with, we ordered some fried mantou (buns) with meat stuffings, an awkward combination, considering the mantou was chocolate/coffee-flavoured and the stuffings was made from minced pork, giving a contrasting flavour of sweet and savoury, deep-fried until the outer crust was crispy, and the filling's delicious when dipped into the sweet chilli sauce. Minor gripe though, they could've been more generous with the fillings. But a good snack as a prelude of things to come.

To wash everything down, the lady recommended their house special drink, chrysanthemum tea with grass jelly (cincau). Such simple combination, yet was a soothing and sweet herbal drink for the parched throats.

Steamed 'Nai Pak' (Radish?) with Fried Small Anchovies (RM6)

The vegetables came highly recommended, not only by the proprietress (I presumed), but tried-and-tested by Motormouth. =P

Very sweet, and juicy (yup, sounds like a fruit, yet it's a vege I'm talkin bout), the ingenious method of cooking managed to preserve the original flavour and sweetness of the radish, and biting into the coarsely-cut chunks of fibre-goodness was pure bliss. I've learnt to appreciate such a simple dish. I'm amazed. Or maybe .....

I must be growing old.

Fei Zhou Yu (Tilapia) steamed with Wantan Noodles (RM2.80/100g)

But the STAR of the evening had to be their most raved about dish, the steamed tilapia with wantan noodles. Pick from a choice of 3 gravy, either steamed with ginger, or "Cheong Ching" (spicy/savoury sauce), or another with simple soy sauce.

The lady recommended the 1st choice, as the fish steamed with lots of ginger was the most popular, at least for newcomers. And the dish did not disappoint at all, save for those who are allergic (doubtful) or tend to stay away from ginger .... like the love-hate relationship I'm having with lemongrass. =P

Their signature bouncy, springy, QQ egg noodles

The noodles was excellent, without alkaline taste, and lightly laden with pepper, and garnished with chopped scallions and julienned carrots. But when steamed together with the fish, the noodles absorbed much of the light yet pungent/fiery sauce, owing its numbingly-tingling taste to the abundance of ginger used in this dish.

Ginger's known to be a good carminative, perfect to calm that dyspepsic gut, but bear in mind the flatulent-finale. LOL.

The tilapia may be a 'poor man's fish' to most, but the freshness of the fish shone through, with absolutely no hint of fishiness, or unpleasant 'muddy' taste commonly lamented when it comes to freshwater fishes. The tender and sweet flesh practically fell off the bones, and the fish at 650gm was more than enough for two. And that seemed to be the smallest available.

Walloped before I rmbred to snap. Whoopsie.

We were mighty full after the whole ordeal. Ravaging, scavenging and wrestling for the best parts of the fish.

And the complimentary dessert of simple and very sweet orange could not have come at a better time. No fancy jellies/puddings, nor souffle or cheese platter, for sure. But some fibre + that overdosage of ginger = A stinkin' good time, y'all !!!

Look for this board. That was the only visible sign from afar this restaurant.

Exiting Rawang toll, turn right towards Rawang town's direction. Go straight for a while, until passing by KTM Komuter railways beneath you, and you'll reach a crossroad. Rawang town centre's on your left. But turn right instead, and go straight until you see a Shell petrol station on your right. The small road leading to Kampong Dato Lee Kim Sai is in fact, right after the Shell station. But you've gotta make a U-turn further down the main road, at the traffic lights.

Must mark down this place. A very good fine with so many special dishes. Steam Fish with noodles is common but very interesting with wantan mee, and I like the Steamed Veg with Fried Small Anchovies too :)

Haha! I burst out laughing when I read that the mantou was chocolate/coffee flavoured! Talk about a strange combo! I'm one of those who are resistant to tilapia...can't really say I'm drawn to the noodles!

We used to hang aound jungle Rawang those golfing days but nobody mentioned this thing, so must be a new happening.We had those snake heads/catfish smashed to bloody death in full view of friends and foe on da floor then boiled Chinese style in simmering pots by some boisterous roadside BB ladies with the bestest bitter gourds then when they disappeared.

What's with Rawang and tilapia? Got tilapia farm there, izzit? Looks like a good find, though. *studying google map* Ok. I think I can do it. (And don't think I didn't notice the love-hate relationship I'm having with lemongrass. ptooi)

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I hail from Ipoh, Perak with a strong desire to share the best of Malaysian food, and the endless chapters of my personal travel stories. Currently writes at www.j2kfm.com. And I am residing in KL/PJ now.